This weekend we took the kids on a little adventure. Some of our friends have been collecting monarch butterfly eggs and then watching them hatch into caterpillars and eventually, metamorphosize into butterflies. It’s a fun project for the kids and they get to learn some pretty cool stuff in the process. There’s a field not too far from our house that is known to be a good spot to find eggs so we headed on over and traipsed around in there until we did. It was pretty cool.

The eggs are found on Milkweed. The monarch caterpillars feed exclusively on milkweed so the butterflies stick their eggs on milkweed plants so that when they hatch the caterpillars can start eating right away. It took a little while but with some help from photos friends sent and a chance meeting with Chrys Mundy out at the field, we found some milkweed plants with eggs and got them home. Paul sat in an antbed and got about a dozen bites, but other than that, it was a great day hanging out with the fam outside.

Hopefully we’ll have pics of our caterpillars and butterflies very soon.

Don’t you wish you lived on our street? We’re throwing a block party for everyone on our block – approximately 40 houses worth. No idea what kind of turnout we’ll have but we’re looking forward to it nonetheless. Yesterday we went door to door and handed out the invitations. Some people were kind of standoffish but others seemed fired up about it. We’ll see what happens. If anyone shows up and gets to know their neighbors a little better, we’ll call it success.

Ed. note: This is a post that originally appeared on my personal blog, TheRoadLesTravels.com

“Why so many kids?” We get this question, or some variant of it all the time – in the mall, at restaurants, from complete strangers as well as our friends and family. It’s a reasonable question. Not many people are doing what we’re doing and we recognize that. For whatever reason, it’s become more the norm for a couple to have two or maybe three kids, and space them apart over several years. Because of that, a lot of people are surprised when they see us rolling into a restaurant with four kids under four. Most people smile or laugh, but some give nasty looks. Not often, but that does happen.

And the question remains. “Why so many kids?”

Well, the answer is pretty simple. We think God wants us to do this. Not only that but we believe that these kids aren’t just a responsibility but that they are a huge blessing. Take a look at Psalm 127:

1 Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman keeps awake in vain.

2 It is vain for you to rise up early,
To retire late,
To eat the bread of painful labors;
For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.

3 Behold, children are a gift of the Lord ,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.

4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.

5 How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
They will not be ashamed
When they speak with their enemies in the gate.

To me this says that real worth isn’t measured by the size of your nest egg, but by the size of your nest. Or something like that. Your bank account isn’t going to give you a full life, but rich relationships with a family that adores you can. Not only that, but having a “quiver” full of “arrows” is a sign of power. Your kids are arrows you launch into the world to defeat the works of the enemy – and the more arrows the better. If you love them well, raise them up in the admonition of the Lord, and prepare them as best you can for what awaits them in this world, then when it’s time for them to launch out on their own, they’re going to be strong and have an impact.

For me, I never care to have my name on a building or a fat bank account. I want my name on a bunch of kids who are living for and loving Jesus wherever they are. That’s why we’re having so many kids.

Last week was a little rough around BrownTown. I was down and out with a cold that turned into pneumonia. Drag. I started feeling bad at work on Monday and before I left for home, I already knew I was coming down with a fairly strong cold. After staying home on Tuesday and Wednesday, I wasn’t feeling any better and was even having some trouble getting a breath of air. Desi decided the “no breathing” thing was enough for her and suggested I might want to get a professional opinion on that. She’s smart.

When I got to the Doc in a Box, my pulse oximeter reading (the indication of how much oxygen was in my bloodstream) was 88. That’s about the level that climbers have toward the top of Mount Everest. Not good. After trying what seemed like every pulse oximeter device in the building, the good folks there decided I might be having some trouble breathing. So, they took a picture of my lungs and sure enough, what started as a simple cold had become pneumonia.

One breathing treatment and two massive injections later I was right as rain with a pulse ox of 98 – marathon runner material. They gave me a couple of prescriptions and when I came back the next day passed along a little puffer device to help me breathe a little better.

Four days later, I’m way better, but still a little breathless at times. Desi did a simply incredible job of keeping all the kids occupied so I could rest while I was sick. That made all the difference in the world. She’s an amazing woman, as you all well know.

So far this week is looking to be a lot smoother if nothing else. We’re looking forward to it.

Thanks for checking us out. This blog will soon become the hub for all things BrownTown. If we get a great video of the kids, it’ll end up here. Twelve inches of snow in 24 hours in Dallas? Pics of our bundled up kids will be right here. Something new on the adoption front? We’ll write a post about it. I think you’re getting the idea.

Look for updates on the adoption process and general BrownTown merriment soon. We’ll also be filling out everybody’s individual pages as well. This thing’ll be chock full of great stuff really fast so keep coming back.